Chapter 16: Civil War

Section 1: The Two Sides

Choosing Sides

• Border States

MissouriKentuckyDelawareMaryland

April, 1861• Mob attacked

Northern troops in Baltimore, Maryland.

Burned down railroads, bridges and cut telegraph wires to Washington, D. C.

Street scene, Warrenton, VA, 1861

Remaining With the Union

• Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Oregon, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin

Lincoln acts cautiously to avoid problems with border states

• Lincoln suspended some constitutional rights

• Arrested people for active support of secession

• Allowed rebellion against Missouri’s pro-confederate state government.

• Western Virginia secedes from Confederacy and joins the Union.

Northern Strength

Large populationMore industryAbundant resourcesBetter Banking, currency establishedGovernment already formedMore Naval ShipsBetter portsBetter TransportationGreat Leader

President Abraham Lincoln, 1863

Battleship Monitor in 1863

Northern Disadvantages

Had to be on the offensive side. Attack!

Invaded areas were population was against them

Public opinion was often divided in the North

Not Cohesive

War Aims and Strategy

Northern aims:

• Main goal was to win war and bring back the South into the Union

• Ending slavery was not a goal at first

Northern War Plans

• Navy Blockade

• Control Mississippi River

• Capture Richmond, the Confederate capital

Richmond, VA. 1862

Southern Strengths

Strong support for the warDefending their homelandSuperior war leadersPresident Davis was experienced

and an ex war defense secretary for the United States

President of the Confederacy

Jefferson Davis

Southern WeaknessesSmaller populationFew factoriesProduced less foodPoor transportation routesIdea of State Rights: Could not get

states to unite for war effort

Southern Aims and Strategies

To be recognized as an independent nation

Defend Home frontTire the North

Southern StrategiesGreat the support

of Britain and France

Defend and Attack Capture

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D. c. 1861

American People at War:Americans Against Americans

Split families and divided friends and communities

Military graduates fought against each other

Who were the Soldiers• Inexperienced and

young

• Farmers

• Uneducated and Poor

• Naïve: Thought war would be over in 90 days

• Volunteers• 850,000 fought for

Confederate• 21,000,000 fought for

Union• North eventually

allowed African Americans to fight

The South refused to allow African Americans to fight.

Why?

Union Troop: African American soldiers

False Hopes

Most Southerners did not think that the North did not have the conviction or desire to win

Confederates thought that the war would be over in least than an year

Northerners thought that they could win the war in 30 days

False Hopes• Some leaders knew that it would be a long

war

• Some politicians thought it may be longer than anticipated by the public

• The Spring of the war proved that it would be a long and bloody war.

False hopes turned to hopelessness by the end of the first year.